And This Too Shall Pass
by Sabishiioni
Summary: Used to be Duo's Trials. A story of Duo, hardship and recovery.
1. Mission

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.

Warning: Torture

Mindless Babble:

Time Line: about a month after "Endless Waltz". The G-boys all became Preventers and live at the Winner Mansion.

* * *

It was supposed to be a mission like any other. The plan was simple enough; Quatre and Wufei would infiltrate the underground base that was rumored to be building Mobile Suits. If the rumor turned out to be true, they would call the others for back up.

They were an hour over due. Hence the reason Heero, Trowa and Duo were shooting their way into the base. They had gotten into the elevator and were riding down with a guest. Along the way, Duo had captured one of the guards.

"Where are they?" he yelled at the guard, violet eyes flashing angrily. The gun in his hand never wavered.

"Last d... door on the r... right," stammered the frightened guard.

"Thanks." With that, Duo slammed his pistol against the guy's head, knocking him into unconsciousness.

Hero nodded. "I got point, you two flank me. Dou: right, Trowa: left."

The boy with the three-foot long braid snapped a quick salute, while the one with the bangs merely nodded. The elevator stopped and the three moved out as one. They were met with very little resistance, which set off all sorts of alarms in the three warriors heads. Beyond the few guards they encountered when the doors slid open, there was no resistance.

"Maybe there just aren't enough guards to go around," suggested Duo, hopefully.

That didn't sit well with Heero. Trowa agreed.

"I believe we are being led into a trap."

Unfortunately, they didn't really have a choice in the matter. Two of their friends were being held by a group of people who seemed opposed to peace. It was either get them out or die trying.

The short hall dead-ended with doors on both sides. Heero signaled to his comrades. Duo put his back to the wall next to the steel door, while Trowa went to work on the electronic lock. After a few seconds, he nodded to Heero, who braced himself. The door slid open with a soft hiss.

The lights were on inside the small room. Only two people occupied the space: Wufei and Quatre. They were bound and gagged and looked as if they had been beaten severely. Trowa went in first, followed by Heero.

Duo had stayed at the door as a look out. He glanced at Heero in time to see a red dot appear on his friends back.

"Heero! Look out!" With out thinking, Duo threw himself between the laser scope and his best friend. His reward was a bullet shattering his right shoulder blade. He fell forward into Heero's arms. By that time, Trowa had shot and killed the sniper in the room across the hall.

It was all for nothing as more guards, heavily armed and armored, rushed in. The trap had worked.

Duo awoke face down on a cot. When he tried to move, the entire right side of his back flared with pain. A yelp of pain escaped his lips. He felt a presence near by and opened his eyes. Purple eyes met anxious blue ones. Well at least one blue eye. Quatre's' other eye was swollen shut with a big bruise covering most of the left side of his face.

"How do you feel, Duo?" The reply was a moan of pain.

"Don't try to move yet. The bullet is still lodged in your trapezium."

Blank stare.

"Your shoulder muscle," sighed Quatre. "I'm afraid I haven't been stop the bleeding."

"That's okay, Cat. Thanks for trying." Duo looked at Heero, who was sitting on the cot on the other wall. "You okay, Heero?"

The boy in question nodded. "Thanks."

Duo tried to shrug, momentarily forgetting his injuries. The end result was a muffled yelp of pain as he buried his head in the pillow. Quatre patted him on the head.

Trowa broke the silence that followed with a question. "What do they want to know?"

Wufei answered from on top of the bunk bed that Trowa had been sitting on, "I have no idea. They just kept asking 'Where are the copies?'"

"Copies? Of what?" asked Heero. "Some sort of plans?"

Quatre shrugged, still sitting on the floor, trying to comfort Duo. "They seem to think that we know something and are hiding it."

At that moment, the door to the small room that they had been move to after they were captured, opened. A heavyset man with small eyes and greased back hair walked in. Even though he wore civilian clothes, his manner screamed 'ex-military'. Behind him were two big guards with bigger guns.

The man looked around and then pointed to Duo. "Take him. He will be the easiest for me to break."

The others tried to protest to no avail. The guards roughly pick up the hapless boy, ignoring his cries of pain. They hauled him out of the room, taking care to hit his injured shoulder many times.

"When we're done with him, we will come back for one of you." The man smirked, "I'll even let you decide who's next."

He turned and walked out, the door sliding closed behind him. Regrettably the locked door did nothing to shut out the sounds of Dou's screams of agony that started only minutes after he was gone.

The other pilots tried to block out the sounds. Quatre was failing miserably, holding his hands over his ears and trembling in empathy. Finally, Trowa took pity on the Arabian. He stood and walked over to Quatre, knelt and wrapped his arms around the shaken warrior. Wufei tried to meditate, but even that was difficult. Heero formed an escape plan.

After five long hours, the screams stopped. The pilots braced themselves both for battle and for the news that Shini-Gami was dead.

When the door slid open again the ex-Gundum pilots were ready. They had taken the sheets off four of the six bunk beds, rolled them up, and stuck them under the blankets of the other two. Heero then crouched down in the corner to the right of the door, Wufei to the left. The young Chinese martial artist was tired and hurt, but also angry, which probably made him the most formidable opponent after Heero. Trowa stayed with Quatre on the floor, in front of the entrance.

The heavyset man arrogantly strode into the small cell, barely glancing at the two "occupied" beds. Only one guard accompanied him. He opened his mouth to say something, but never got the chance to do so.

Heero pounced on the fat man, knocking them both away from the door. The guard that rushed in to help, got Wufei instead. So, while Heero beat the sadistic interrogator into a bloody pulp, Wufei turned the guard into a human pretzel.

Outside their cell, Heero instructed the others to finish the job of destroying the MS factory. He directed them, from memory, where the main production facility was. He hoped that they would be able to find the gear Quatre and Wufei had brought with them. It would make things go faster.

"Where are you going?" asked the blond Arab, looking at Heero.

"I'm going to find Duo," replied the brown haired soldier. "One way or another, I'm getting him out."

Quatre tried to swallow the lump in his throat as he realized what Heero meant. If he couldn't get their friend out, he would kill Duo. Simple. Efficient. Logical. Quatre hated the fact that Heero was right. He turned and followed the other two through the door that would take them to the main office and then to the factory.

Heero turned in the other direction. He paused in front of the closed door to the room that was next to the cell he had just broken out of. The small sign over the entrance read, 'Kitchen'. Heero took a deep breath before he opened the door.

The Perfect Soldier gagged as the door hissed opened. The smell of burnt flesh was almost overwhelming. Out of the corner of his eye, Heero saw the lone guard go for his gun. Heero beat him to the draw. The guard was dead before he could draw his weapon all the way.

When he finally got to look around, Heero found two more guards unconscious in a corner. Both had taken blows to the head. At their feet was a drain coated in blood and it wasn't the guards. Heero forced himself to look up.

Duo hung on a meat hook by the handcuffs on his wrist. He had been completely stripped of his clothes making every wound on his body clearly visible. There were many. He had been burned on the face and upper torso. Jagged knife cuts made a spider web pattern on his abdomen. Bruises around his throat told of being choked to the edge of losing consciousness, then being released. Both of his legs had been broken, one being a compound fracture, the bone tearing through the skin. The worst wound was on his left arm. Part of the skin had been peeled nearly off, strips of it just hanging, dripping blood.

Heero jumped when Duo moved his head to look at his friend. "Kill me."

The words came out as a plea leaving the Perfect Soldier shocked to the point that he could do nothing. The not so distant explosions and gunfire finally knocked him out of his stupor. He took the coat of one of the downed guards and laid it on the floor. Then, as gently as he could, removed Duo from the hook and wrapped him in the coat. That was when Heero noticed the whip marks across the pale skin of Duo's back. His friend whimpered at the touch.

"I'm sorry, Duo. Please hold on a bit longer."

He wasn't sure if it was just the motion of moving the wounded pilot or something else, but Heero could have sworn that Duo nodded.

Heero met up with the others just as they were getting on the elevator, moments before the explosives went off. The ride to the hospital was done in almost complete silence. Trowa drove with Wufei and Quatre in the front with him. Heero sat in the backseat of the jeep with Duo cradled in his arms. Not a word had been spoken after Heero called ahead regarding Duo's injuries. The guard had been a big man and his coat covered nearly all of Duo's wounds. Still, the pilots wondered if their comrade would make it.

* * *

Dr. Sally Po met the five young men at the door of the hospital that she was working at. She had assembled a team of doctors that were specialist in the fields that would be needed to save the young pilots life. As soon as the jeep stopped, Sally rushed to help Heero get Duo onto the waiting gurney. Immediately, the team of doctor started to analyze what had to be done. Only Sally noticed that Heero didn't let go of his friends' hand until they reached the OR. Then he reluctantly let the hand slip from his grasp.

Heero walked back to the waiting room where the rest of the pilots had settled in. Quatre stood and walked over to his friend. He held an ice pack on the swollen eye.

"What's wrong, Heero? And don't just brush me off," Quatre smiled a bit. "I know you to well too well. Something is bothering you."

Heero looked into the one bright blue eye of the Arabian prince and found himself speaking. "Duo saved my life. And now, I can't do a damn thing to save his!"

"Heero, you've already done a lot to save him," Quatre protested. "You helped Duo just by getting him out of there. Plus, by calling Sally and giving her advance notice of what to expect, he may just make it out ok."

Quatre reached out with his free hand and gently squeezed Heero's shoulder. "He'll be alright. Gundam pilots are hard to kill."

Heero smiled. Maybe Quatre was right. They would just have to wait and see.

* * *

The four pilots lost track of time between dozing off and jumping every time a doctor came out of the operating room. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Sally walked into the waiting room. The four pilots were on their feet in an instant.

Sally shook her head sadly, a tear sliding down her pale cheek. "I oh! I...I promised myself I wouldn't cry!"

Surprisingly, it was Wufei that stepped forward to wrap her into a comforting hug. The doctor held on for a few moments, and then broke their embrace. She looked at the four young men standing before her, their eyes full of anxiety and grief.

"Duo is in an ICU. His chances are slim that he will even make it. If he does, and I'm not saying that he will " Sally could see the hope springing into four sets of eyes and nearly lost her resolve again. "If he does, we don't know if he'll be able to use his left arm again much less walk with all that nerve damage. And we have no idea if there's any brain damage from the strangulation."

The hope had not left their eyes.

"Can we see him?" asked Quatre.

Sally sighed. "I can let one of you see him and only for a few minutes."

"Then Heero should be the one," said Quatre. Wufei and Trowa nodded in agreement.

Heero nodded his thanks to them and followed Dr. Po down a hall. She stopped in front of a closed door and turned to face the pilot.

"I just want to warn you. The other doctors and I did every thing we could. Dr. Stingray spent several hours reattaching nerves and Dr. Yamazaki set all the broken and shattered bones and administered a bone mender to speed up the healing time on them. Dr. Romanova was able to clean up the burns on his face enough that there will be little or no scaring on his face and neck. I did the stitching for the cuts on his abdomen. But I don't know if it was enough.

"Right now, machines are keeping him alive," the doctor continued. "What's on the other side of this door is pretty horrific."

"I understand."

Sally nodded and opened the door. "I'll come back in about five minutes. That all I can give you."

Heero took a deep breath and walked into the small room. A small gasp escaped from him. Duo looked like a small child among all the tube and wires that ran from various monitors and other machines and disappeared under the blankets that covered the small frame. IVs were feeding into both arms draining bags of medicine and blood. The heart monitor set a constant beep that coincided with the machine that was keeping that heart pumping. A tube down Duo's throat entered his lungs, keeping them supplied with the much-needed oxygen.

Duo's body looked almost like a mummy. The blankets had been folded down to expose the bandaged chest and stomach. Duo's face had been loosely wrapped in gauze, covering the burns. His left arm from shoulder to elbow was firmly wrapped in the same white bandages as his face. The Americans' hair had come loose from the constant braid and fell over the pillow like a chestnut wave.

Heero walked toward the bed slowly trying to comprehend the scene before him. He stood next to his friend and slid his hand under Duo's hand being careful not to disturb any of the monitors nor the injured arm. He was surprised to find it so cold.

"Did I do the right thing, Duo?" Heero whispered. "Would it have been better to make sure you never suffered?"

It was a few minutes before the young solder spoke again. "Was I being selfish in saving you when you asked me to kill you?"

The tears that he had been holding back finally broke through and the Perfect Solder wept.


	2. Death

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.

Warning:

Mindless Babble: Even re-reading and cringing at how awful these are, I still like this chapter.

* * *

Duo stood in the middle of Maxwell Church. He knew something was wrong with this picture, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He heard a woman's laughter and turned to look for the source. He found nothing but shadows.

"Who's there?" His voice sounded strange to him, hollow.

"Duo Maxwell," the voice whispered, not bothering to answer his question. It sounded familiar to the boy.

"Sister Helen?"

"Sometimes," the voice replied.

A woman stepped out from the shadows. A black dress started at her throat and flowed down the hourglass curves to touch the floor but left the arms bare. Raven colored hair framed a pale face with dark eyes and lips the color of pomegranate juice. A crow sat on her left shoulder, eying the braided boy like a piece of meat. In her right hand, the woman held a scythe.

"Sometimes I am Father Maxwell and other times I am a little boy named Solo. I am all who came before you and will be all that come after you." The woman paused and tilted her head to the side, looking curiously at Duo. "But I will never be you."

Duo seemed to understand some of the riddle. "Death."

The woman smiled. "Yes. Do you like to dance?"

She leaned her scythe against the wall and the crow flew down to stand next to it. Death walked up to Duo and together they began to waltz. The walls of the church disappeared to reveal a vast sea of stars. They danced upon nothing to music that only they could hear.

"I didn't understand what you said about how you would never be me," asked Duo.

Death laughed, a sound like water rushing over stones. "How could I be, my Lord?"

Duo grinned with understanding. He swept his partner into a series of dance steps that took them all over our solar system. Death cried out in delight. They began to dance slower and drew closer to each other until Deaths' head rested on Duos' chest. They stayed like this for some time, not moving; just holding on to each other, enjoying the moment.

The cawing of the crow broke that moment. Death stepped away from the embrace and turned to regard the bird.

"My brother says it's time."

"Your brother?"

Death held her arm out and the crow flew up to land on it. "This is my brother, Sleep. He will take you back, my Lord."

Duo looked into the woman's eyes and said, "I don't want to go back."

Death seemed surprised at that statement. She picked up her scythe as Sleep hopped onto her shoulder. "What about your friends?'

"I'll see them again. Besides, I doubt that they'll miss me."

"I disagree." With that Death swung her blade across the stars, tearing the very fabric of space. Through the tear, Duo could see his friends in what seemed like a bizarre collage.

Wufei was in his room at the Winner mansion running through every Kata that he could remember with a fierceness that contradicted the purpose of the exercise. Almost, as if he were inside the Chinese boys' brain, Duo could hear his thoughts, 'If only I had trained harder and been faster, that braided fool wouldn't be laying in that hospital, dieing.'

Quatre sat on his bed holding his pillow and looking out the window. Tears streamed down his face. 'Duo I'm so sorry. I wish I could do something to help you. Please get better so I can at least thank you for saving my life and for all the times you've made me smile.' His thoughts were also clear in Duos' head.

Trowa sat in a tree playing his flute. The music was as beautiful as it was sad. Words didn't need to be spoken as Duo recognized the song as "Taps".

Heero was sitting in a chair with his head on a bed, fast asleep. He was holding someone's hand. It took Duo a few moments to realize the hand Heero was holding was his.

"He's been like that for some time now," Death said from his side. "He hardly ever leaves your side. The others have to come and drag him away to eat and rest."

"I... I didn't know," stammered Duo, utterly shocked.

Death physically turned the pilot to face her. "Do you still want to stay?"

Duo shook his head.

The lady smiled sadly. She kissed him on the cheek and whispered into his ear, "We will meet again, my Lord Shini-Gami. Until then, I will miss you."

Death walked away, disappearing into the shadows. Sleep flew back from those shadows to land on Duos' shoulder. He leaned back to stretch out his wings once more before settling down.

"Ready to go, Kid?"

Duo nodded and in an instant he found himself on a much bigger Sleeps' back, passing through dark clouds that lit up with lighting. Soon those clouds became white and puffy. At last he found himself looking down on his own body. Sleep perched on his shoulder.

"This will hurt a lot, recovering, that is. Are you sure you want to do this?" asked the bird.

Duo looked at the brown haired boy asleep in chair next to the bed and said, "Yes. I'm sure."

Sleep ruffled his feathers. "You won't remember my sister and I. But I know she won't forget you."

Duo looked at the bird, "Until we speak again "

The crow disappeared as Duo reached out to touch the hand that Heero was holding.

Heero woke to a choking noise. Instantly he was awake and shouting for a doctor. The closest one happened to be Sally.

She rushed into the room and grinned. "It's okay, Heero! Duo has started to breath on his own! He's waking up!"


	3. Returning

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.

Warning: Short

Mindless Babble:

* * *

"Here he comes! He's here!" Quatre had been running around non-stop all morning making sure everything was perfect. He had spent most of the day before cooking and cleaning. He had managed to make a five-course meal with the reluctant help of Wufei. In addition, he had managed to con Trowa into helping him get Duo's room ready.

It had been six weeks since Duo had woken up, two months since that fateful day. Sally had been right on several accounts in reference to the pilot's condition. There was little scarring on the boy's body, but quite a bit on his psyche. While the bone mender had done it's job, Duo had a difficult time learning to walk. He would cringe any time someone tried to touch him, including the physical therapist.

Heero was the exception. Sally figured it was because Heero spent so much time with his friend that Duo found someone who he could trust. Together, Duo learned how to use his legs again along with the arm that the shoulder blade had been shattered.

There, however, did remain one problem. Since wakening up, the usually talkative Duo had not spoken one word. The doctors ran a number of tests, checking to see if damage had been done to the vocal cords. They all came back negative. Quatre had come up with his own reason for his friend's silence.

"Maybe he imbedded a command so deeply, to keep from saying anything, that it's still there."

In some odd way, this made sense to pilots.

Duo was now walking up the stairs to the front door, Heero walking along side of him carrying a small overnight bag that he had used to bring Duo a change of clothes. It now carried the few personal affects that friends had brought to make the braided boy's stay at the hospital a bit more bearable.

Trowa had to literally hold onto Quatre's shirt collar to make sure the young blond didn't knock over Duo in his enthusiastic greeting. Heero came in first and with a single "Yui Death Glare" calmed Quatre down. Duo crept in next, his purple eyes wide with anxiety.

Quatre approached him slowly. "Welcome back, Duo. Wufei helped make a welcome home dinner for you. If you'd like to settle in first, Trowa and I got your room ready."

Duo let a ghost of a smile escape and he nodded his thanks. He looked at Heero who made a motion for Duo to follow.

"Give us about a half an hour, then we'll be down for dinner," Heero said looking over his shoulder.

Quatre nodded and snagged Wufei and Trowa just as they were trying to sneak off to there own rooms. "You guys can help me set the table."

Upstairs in Duo's room, Heero sat on the bed, watching his friend unpack the few things from the bag. Duo seemed to just be going through the motions. Heero pulled something from his pocket.

"Umm Duo? I got you something, kind of a welcome home gift."

He handed the other boy a small black box. Inside was gold cross on a chain. Duo grinned and slipped the chain over his head.

"I figured you lost your other one when...on that day," Heero said correcting himself.

Duo flung his arms around Heero in a bear hug. That finally broke the Perfect Soldier.

"Talk to me, Duo! Please! I want...I...I need to know that I did the right thing!"

Duo release Heero and pulled back, the shock plain on his face. There was also a hint of sorrow in those purple eyes. He reached over to the nightstand and picked up a framed photo, handing it to Heero. The picture was the two of them; Duo slinging an arm over a stone faced Heero. With his other hand, Duo held up two fingers in a "V". Both had obviously just come from a nasty little fistfight.

Heero remembered that day. Some big biker type guys were teasing Duo about his beloved braid. The boy lost his temper punched one of them. This lead to a big ol' fight that Heero eventually ended up wading into to retrieve his friend. In the process, he sent two of the bikers to the hospital and one to a dentist to have his teeth put back in. Duo had managed to knock the other two idiots out. When they arrived home, Quatre, who had been playing with an old camera, snapped a picture of the two. Then for Duo's birthday, Quatre gave him the framed photo.

Heero smiled a bit at the memory. When he looked up, Duo was giving him the same "V for Victory" sign with the same grin as in the picture. Heero's smile widen with understanding.

"Thanks, Duo."


	4. Present

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.

Warning: Fluff

Mindless Babble:

* * *

Duo sat down to a table almost breaking underneath the weight of all the food piled on top of it. Quatre and Wufei had made all of his favorites including a huge roast turkey with stuffing and sizzling rice soup. His mouth watered at the sight.

Trowa laughed. "Quatre, I think you could of made him a grilled cheese sandwich and have gotten the same reaction after all that hospital food!"

Duo nodded vigorously, agreeing whole heartedly. He started loading up his plate with a bit of everything. He was just pouring the puffed rice into the steaming broth when Quatre laughed.

"Eat up, Duo! Afterwards, I've got something special planned for you!'

In an instant, Duo's eyes clouded over with fear and confusion. He flung himself away from the table violently, colliding with the wall behind him. A framed picture fell from where it had been hanging, glass shattering into a thousand crystal shards. Duo stumbled sideways, falling into a fetal position.

The others had managed to stand up but shock had kept them from doing anything. When Duo crumpled in the corner, Heero finally snapped out of it. He walked slowly towards the trembling boy.

"Duo? It's okay. I'm here," Heero whispered, reaching out to the huddling mass. Duo flinched away curling up even tighter into a ball. " It's okay, Duo. It's me, Heero."

The braided pilot looked up and a hand emerged to reach towards Heero. He grabbed that hand and pulled Duo into a protective hug. Duo whimpered and wrapped his own arms around Heero.

"It'll be alright," Heero whispered. "I'll protect you. I promised to protect all of you, and I will."

Meanwhile the others were trying to regain their composer. Trowa was trying to comfort Quatre, who was absolutely stricken by the fact that he caused his friend so much pain. All he had meant was that he had a special gift for Duo, a welcome home present.

Wufei, on the other hand was lost in a memory that had been sparked by the sight of Heero cradling Duo. It reminded him of a time long ago, the exact moment he had chosen to pilot Shenlong. His wife, Meilan, no Nataku sacrificed her life to save Shenlong and Wufei, to later die in his arms in his field of flowers.

Wufei moved to stand beside Duo and Heero. He knelt and put his hand on Duo's back. He felt the lanky muscles tighten under the black fabric.

"Be strong, Maxwell. We are all here for you." And then to himself, 'That strength includes the strength of Nataku.'

Quatre and Trowa came to stand behind him just as Duo looked up. The fear was still in those purple eyes, but to a lesser degree. He tried to smile for the benefit of Quatre, partially succeeding.

"Duo? Would you come into the living room?" Quatre asked, his voice just a bit shaky. "What I had meant to say was that I had a special gift for you and I wanted to give it to you after dinner. But I think now would be a better time."

Duo nodded. He tried to stand on his own but was still trembling bad enough that his legs just could not support him. Heero slipped his arm under one of Duo's to help hold him up. Together, they made their way into the living room, followed by Wufei, Trowa and Quatre who slipped past them and ran to his room.

The remaining four settled themselves into the seats the stood in front of the fireplace. Heero sat in the cushioned high backed chair with Duo cross-legged at his feet. Trowa and Wufei shared the couch, Trowa leaning forward and Wufei sitting with an ankle resting on the other leg's knee.

Quatre appeared carrying a medium sized, white box tied with a red ribbon. He set it down in front of Duo, grinning from ear to ear.

"I found this when I went grocery shopping this morning. I know you'll just love it."

Duo eyed the young Arab suspiciously while tugging on the ribbon to release it from the bow. He paused as the red band fell to the floor. Had the lid just moved on it's own? It had! Duo reached out and flipped off the lid. Nothing popped out at him so he peered into the box. Beautiful, golden eyes stared right back at him.

Two tiny paws suddenly appeared on the side of the box followed by the rest of the little kitten. It's coat looked like it had gotten in a fight with a paintbrush and lost. It had swirls of red, orange and cream with stripes of black and spots of gray. Under its orange nose was a white spot around its mouth that made it look like it was puckering up for a kiss. The illusion was compounded by the fact that it was stretching as far as it could to touch noses with Duo.

"Do you like her?" Quatre asked. "She was the last of her litter to be adopted and I just couldn't resist. I thought she might make a good companion for you."

Duo grinned. He nodded as he took the little ball of fur out of the box and set her on the floor. The kitten immediately attacked the ribbon that had been on the box. That kept her attention for a whole five seconds and then she turned to find something else to play with. Unfortunately, the object of her next attack was Heero's shoelaces.

"Hey! Cut that out!" Heero pulled his feet away from the vicious attack and proceeded to sit on them.

"Humph! Kittens are weak!" As if she understood him, the kitten jumped onto the armrest next to Wufei. He turned to look at her and asked, "What do you want?"

The tiny kitten reached and bopped him on the nose with just the pads of her paws, no claws. She then turned, hopped down to the floor and scampered into the safety of Duo's lap before Wufei could even react.

Trowa laughed and said, "I think she just showed you up!"

Quatre and Heero joined the laughter. Duo smiled a bit wider. Soon even Wufei had to admit defeat and joined the laughter.

Suddenly Duo stood, the kitten clutched tightly to his chest. He turned and ran up the stairs leaving his friends wondering what just happened. He returned a short while later still carrying the kitten. The boy set the little ball of fluff in Quatre's lap.

The blond noticed a silver ID bracelet around the kittens' neck. He could tell that it had, until recently, been longer. He also noticed that there had been a name scratched into the tag part.

"I guess the kitten now has a name," he said, reading the tag. "Tora-chan. Doesn't that mean "

Heero filled in the translation. "Little Tiger."

Later that night, after everyone else had gone to bed, Duo picked up his sleeping kitten and walked to his room. There he found the last surprise of the night. A vase full of wild flowers sat on his dresser that had not been there earlier. There was a note attached to them written in Wufei's handwriting.:

To Duo,

Be strong.

From Meilan AKA Nataku


	5. Mission

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.

Warning: None

Mindless Babble:

* * *

Heero, Trowa, Quatre and Wufei watched over the following days as Duo and Tora-chan, Tora for short, bonded to the point of being inseparable. Or as Wufei said, "Insufferable." The four soon found that Duo and the kitten had come up with a multitude of games. One was a strange game of "Tag". One would chase the other down a hall and on the return trip the roles would be reversed. So long as they didn't get run over, the other four pilots would just chuckle at the sight of their Braided Baka being chased by the tiny kitten. Another game was "Hide and Seek". Tora would hide her toys and Duo would have to seek for them. Usually this game ended with the five pilots going to the nearby pet supply store to buy new ones.

Eventually, Duo joined his friends in going back to work with the Preventers. He was only allowed to work part time, though. Everyone agreed that taking things slowly would be the best. For Duo, it meant being aloud to spend more time with his furry friend. For Tora, it meant long hours of crying for her "Daddy". Many times, on the days that Duo didn't work, the others would come home to find him asleep on the couch, TV on, and kitten curled up against Duo's chest, under his arm, purring contently.

It came as a surprise, then, when all five of them were called into the Chief office for a mission briefing. Usually they were paired up for their assignments. For all five of them to be on the same mission meant something big had come up.

"I called the five of you in here because of your unique backgrounds," the Chief said, watching the confusion set in. He took a deep breath and continued, "You all remember that MS station you destroyed a while back?"

Heero grabbed Duo's hand as soon as he saw his friend's eyes widen with fear. Duo smiled shakily and nodded his thanks. Then he turned his attention back to his superior officer, trying to keep the fear in control.

"Well, we checked into what they kept saying about 'the copies' and found a small MS factory working on the moon. We think whatever they meant, might be in that factory."

"Why did it take so long to find this place?" asked Trowa.

"Two reasons; One- the factory is partially underground, built into the side of a crater. Two- it was supposedly shut down years ago."

"Why do you think 'the copies' are there?" this was from Wufei.

"That's why we chose the five of you. We think those copies are copies of your original Gundams."

"You mean ?" It was highly unlike Heero to be surprised like this, and it disturbed him. "The scientist ?"

"No, they're not involved. Intelligence reports that these terrorist stole the plans on their own."

"So, what is our mission?" asked Heero, once again the Perfect Soldier.

"Find out as much information on those Gundams and destroy the factory. Take prisoners if you can. Ummm... is he alright?" the Chief asked, pointing at Duo.

The boy had a look in his eyes and grin on his face that the other pilots knew very well. Shini-Gami had returned with a vengeance.

* * *

The five pilots found themselves hiding in a closet changing clothes with five unconscious pilots. They had booked passage on a lunar flight and then rented a vehicle to drive out to the crater. Breaking in had been surprisingly simple. Taking out the first guards had been even easier.

"Let's split up. Trowa and Wufei, you guys take the explosives. I'll take Quatre and Duo to try and find the Gundams.

The other four nodded. Trowa and Wufei shouldered the duffel bags that held the small explosives. They would take them and hide them around the base. The explosives would be set to a remote control detonator. Wufei peeked out of the closet to check if the coast was clear, then he and Trowa walked out and down the hall.

Heero, Quatre, and Duo followed suite soon there after. It only took twenty minutes of looking before they found the large hanger that housed the five Gundams. Heero sat down at a computer to start hacking into it. He paused long enough to instruct Quatre to watch the door and Duo to check out the Gundams themselves.

After a few minutes, Heero spoke up. "Hey, Quatre. Come here and take a look at this"

The young Arab walked over to the peer over Heero's shoulder. The screen held some of the stats about all five of the Gundams. Heero tapped a section of the screen. The information was about the systems.

"They don't have a Zero system, but they do have something they called a 'Symbiotic' system. In theory it works somewhat like the Zero, but only kicks in if the pilot loses control of his emotions. So far, these guys haven't found anyone who could handle it."

"Looks like they can now be slaved with the other Gundams, in case the pilot looses consciousness. That would have been handy during the war," Quatre said with a smile. He read a little further down and found a surprise. "They're operational?"

Heero nodded. "I think we should take them with us."

Quatre agreed. "I'll help Duo get the Gundams ready for take off. You should see about finding Trowa and Wufei."

"I also found a map of this place so it shouldn't take too long for me to find them."

It actually took him almost a half hour for the three of them to get back. By that time Duo and Quatre had gotten all five Gundams ready. Trowa and Wufei were pleasantly surprised to find Heavyarms and Shenlong waiting for them. Even better was the fact that Duo had found all the weapons for the Gundams.

The pilots got into each of their Mobile Suits and strapped in. Heero pointed his Buster Rifle at the roof and blew a hole in it large enough for the massive Gundams to fit through. The base had only a single level so immediately the air rushed out of the hanger and into the void of space. Four Mobile Suits followed the air.

Heero had chosen to stay behind long enough to detonate the charges. He would have a window of only a few seconds to get out, but he was confident that he could do it. Just as he was about to hit the button to destroy the base, a swarm of Leos and Aries descended on the pilots.

The five Gundam pilots reacted like it was second nature to them, which in a way, it was. Even though it had been a long time since any of them had even been in the original suits, each one moved with a fluid grace that could only be found after years of practice.

Duo spared a second to look down through the hole in the building to see how Heero was doing. He was just in time to see his friend being swarmed in MSs. Something in Duo snapped then.

"HEERO!"

Duo dropped down through the opening and began slicing the metal monsters that were attacking Wing. Rage poured into his veins and fueled his Energy Scythe. An image briefly came to mind of a beautiful woman holding a scythe much like his. The image came and went so quickly, Duo hardly had a chance too acknowledge it.

Suddenly, a haze of red dropped over Duo's vision. His mind seemed to shut down and computer kicked in. It was able to analyze and predict its' enemies' moves. It was a matter of seconds before all the Leos that had been attacking Wing were eliminated.

Inside Wing, Heero was recovering from the triple shock of being attacked, Duo's first word since waking up, and Duo's slaughter of the MSs. Deathscythe hadn't moved after destroying the last Leo and The Japanese pilot was beginning to worry about his friend.

"Duo? Are you hurt?"

Silence answered him. Heero quickly programmed Deathscythe to follow wing. He found the remote detonator and pressed the button. The he and Deathscythe flew out the roof. The others had completed destroying the remaining enemy and were waiting for them.

"We're going home. Now. I think something happened to Duo," Heero said over the radio.

* * *

Two hour later, Heero, Quatre, Wufei and Trowa stood around Duo's bed and watched Sally try to examine the boy. A small ball of fluff kept getting in between her and Duo. Finally, she picked up the kitten and handed her to the nearest person, which happened to be Wufei. He looked down at Tora-chan, who looked at him with such a confused and hurt expression, Wufei did the only thing he could think of and hugged her.

Sally finished her examination and sighed. The four pilots braced themselves for bad news. "He's catatonic, which means that basically his mind has shut down."

"Will he come out of it?" asked Quatre.

"I don't know. Maybe after that system has been studied a bit more, I might be able to tell. Right now, though, Duo needs to get some rest."

The five of them shuffled through the door. Wufei tried to hang on to Tora but she wiggled out of his arms and ran to the bed. The last thing Wufei saw as he closed the door was the tiny kitten curled up next to Duo, a paw resting on her "daddy's" shoulder.


	6. Of Joy and Sorrow

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.

Warning: Torture.

Mindless Babble:

* * *

It had been a week and there had been no change in Duo's condition. Sally had mentioned that sometimes patients like the braided pilot responded to outside stimuli. So Duo's friends took turn reading and talking to him. Sometimes Quatre would play his violin and Trowa would play his flute. Nothing seemed to help though.

Heero sat on the windowsill in Duo's room. It was his turn to be with his friend. He looked over at the bed. Tora hadn't moved from Duo's side since he had been brought in, except to use the litter box. Today she had wiggled her way under her "daddy's" hand, as if she were trying to get him to pet her.

Heero looked back down at the book he had been reading. Duo had given it to him last Christmas, saying that it was one of his favorite authors. After reading this book Heero had gone to look for others. He found that he liked all of the books that this man had written, but the book he held in his hands still remained his favorite. He read his favorite passage out loud.

_Then a woman said, Speak to us of joy and sorrow._

_And he answered:_

_Your joy is your sorrow unmasked._

_And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears._

_And how else can it be?_

_The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain._ [1]

Heero like this passage because it reminded him of Duo. The purple-eyed American always seemed so full of joy and happiness. What sorrows could have carved out such a huge basin for all that joy? Another voice cut into his thoughts, making him jump. It was a raspy voice but the words were spoken clearly.

_Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?_

_And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?_

_When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy._[2]

Heero sat, surprised, looking at Duo, watching him try to sit up. Snapping out of it, he hopped down from the window and rushed over to help. He propped up some pillows behind Duo and helped him slid back to rest against them. Tora's sudden (and loud) rumbling purr filled the room. Duo reach down and briefly pet his furry little friend.

"Read the rest, Heero. Please."

"Why? You seem to know the whole thing." Heero couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

Duo smiled. "Yes, but you make it sound better. Besides, it'll give me some time to get my thoughts together."

Heero shrugged and continued reading.

_When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight._

_Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."_

_But I say unto you, they are inseparable._

_Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed._

_Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy._

_Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced._

_When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall._[3]

"Heero, will you help me into the living room?" Duo asked after the Japanese pilot had closed the book.

Heero nodded and asked, "Did you want me to get your shirt?"

Duo shook his head. "No. Just help me get into some pants."

If Tora could have laughed, she would have had tears streaming from her eyes. The Gundam pilots may have been graceful in space, but not so in trying to get a pair of pants on. It really wasn't their fault. Duo was dizzy after being in bed so long and Heero had no experience on helping. another put on their pants.

Finally, they got it together and started to make there way to the living room, Tora following close behind. Heero was wondering why Duo wanted to go shirtless when there was a layer of snow outside. That was when he noticed the scars across his friends back.

Quatre, Trowa and Wufei were already in the living room, enjoying the roaring fire. They all stood when Heero, who was supporting Duo, walked in. The braided boy motioned to the fire and Heero carefully guided him to sit in front of the hearth. Duo sat sideways so the fire lighted up his profile. Tora curled up next to him, enjoying both the warmth of her owner and the heat from the fire.

The five Gundam pilots sat back down and stared into the fire for a long time before Duo broke the silence. His voice was still a little shaky, but not as dry sounding. Heero had gotten Duo some water to drink while he went to find a clean pair of pants. (Not an easy task considering the constant state of the 02 pilot's room: messy.)

"I need to talk about what happened, but if you don't want to hear it, I'll understand. But you guys should know that all of you were there in that room with me, helping me to stay alive."

"Maxwell, for you to speak to us of such a personal thing is a sign of your strength and your trust in us. I, for one, am grateful for that trust and hope that I may be able to lend you some of my strength to help you get through this," said Wufei, from his high-backed chair.

"I feel the same way, Duo. You need to talk and we are here to listen and help you."

"Thanks, Trowa," Duo said.

"I'm just happy to here your voice again," Quatre said happily. "I hope your laughter will be able to come back after you get this out."

Duo smiled. It felt good to know that his friends, no, make that family, cared so much.

"That stupid system on the new Gundams brought back that time I spent in that room in play by play action it was pretty bad. It felt like I had spent an eternity there. Heero told me it was actually something like five hours only.

"Anyway, they took me to the kitchen, cuffed me and hung me on that meat hook. They stripped me completely naked. 'Easier to work on.' That was what that bastard said."

Duo shifted uncomfortably. He had debated on telling his friends all of what happened. He knew he had to tell someone something, but he didn't know how to and how much to say.

"One of the guard came over and started touching me. I freaked and kicked the guy in the groin. Then I hit him upside the head with my other leg, knocking him out. Another guard tried to restrain me, and got sent flying when kicked him with both of my feet."

Duo turned to look at Heero. "Those were the two unconscious guards that you saw when you came in."

Heero nodded. He had wondered about that.

Duo turned his head back to look at the flames. His voice began to take on a far away tone as he continued with his story.

"That was when the bastard broke both of my legs. He used a boken to do it. Hurt like hell at first. Then came the rest. He started out with the basics- the whip. I lost count after about the first twenty lashes.

Next came the torches and he even had something like Epyon's Heat Rod. He he kept taunting me, sometimes completely forgetting to ask me anything. He just seemed to be enjoying himself.

" After he got bored with burning me, the bastard switched to knives. He made jokes about how he was an artist and I was going to be his 'work of art'. He started to cut into me it hurt so much! I didn't want to scream but I couldn't stop I tried not to "

By this time tears were streaming down his cheek. He scooped up Tora and held her close, as if the kitten could stop the memories. Tora, for her part took it all in stride, letting her soft as silk fur soak up the tears.

The next thing he knew, Duo was being wrapped in a gentle hug. Turning his head, he was mildly surprised to find it was Heero.

"You don't have to finish if you don't want to. At least not tonight."

"I have to, Heero. If I don't do tonight, I may never get the courage to try again. And if I don't get this all out, I I'd go crazy trying to keep it all in."

Heero nodded in understanding, but didn't move from the floor. A few moments later, Quatre joined them in the floor. Then Trowa and eventually Wufei.

"We're here for you, Duo," Trowa said. "Just like all those times when you were there for us."

"Aw, shucks guys! I didn't know you cared." Actually he did know. Duo remembered a strange dream in which he saw his friends worrying about him, but he couldn't remember the details, just a feeling of warmth.

After a pause, he continued with his story. " After all that, he tried strangling me. He'd choke me just to the point that I would lose conscious, and then let go. He did that a couple of times. That was when he got really frustrated with me not saying anything useful."

"He got his knife back out. He asked me one more time where 'they' were and when I didn't say anything, he cut open my arm. He then poured alcohol on the wound, on the exposed nerves. I guess I finally passed out, because the next thing I remember was Heero blowing away the only guard that was still standing."

"Well, Duo, If it makes you feel any better, Heero also made sure that that man will never hurt anyone ever again, " Quatre said smiling.

Duo put on a shaky smile of his own. "I wouldn't doubt it."

"We also have a confession to make," Heero said. "We weren't the only ones watching over you these past couple of days."

"Oh? Who else was " Duo looked up in time to see an angel walk in.

"Duo " Hilde whispered as she dropped to her knees in front of him. She took him into her arms and hugged him fiercely. Duo returned the hug, just as tightly.

"Hilde, I'm sorry. I didn't want you to hear that."

"Why?"

"I was afraid that you would worry too much."

Hilde released Duo and looked at him. "I didn't even know about you until Heero tracked me down on one of the colonies. That was shortly before you went on this last mission."

"Meow?"

Duo looked down at his lap. He had been petting his little kitten and had stopped to hug Hilde. He rubbed the special spot behind her ears that only he knew the exact location of.

"Sorry about that, Baby."

The loud rumbling purr once again filled the room.

"Heero did mention that there was one more trouble maker in the house." Hilde reached down to pet the fur ball.

"Who's the other?" Duo asked shyly.

Quatre burst out laughing. The others soon followed suit. The laughter settled down and a comfortable silence fell, each one of them lost to their own thoughts.

Duo looked around at his friends and sighed. He wrapped his arm around Hilde and pulled her close. At this moment, he was safe and happy with his family.

The young woman looked at the big, black bird on her shoulder. She gestured towards the deep well that stood in front of her. "Do you think we did the right thing, Sleep?"

"Of course! Look at how happy he is," the bird replied.

"But what about his future sorrows?" Death looked back to the well, her eyes coming to rest on the braided boy. "Will he be strong enough?"

"That is up to the Shini-Gami."

END

* * *

[1] From "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran

[1] Also from "The Prophet".

[1] Again from "The Prophet".


End file.
